Owning a listed building is a great privilege, but owning a piece of living history also comes with great responsibility. If you wish to extend or alter your listed building in any way you will need to apply for listed building consent.
It is also worth remembering that any buildings which fall within the curtilage or grounds of a listed building are likely to be subject to the same conditions. It is vital to ascertain your position with your local council as it is a criminal offence to carry out work which requires listed building consent, without obtaining it beforehand.
A prime example of this is seen in a previous case we undertook for a property at Hanover Terrace.
Issue:
We were instructed to rectify a serious breach of planning control at Grade I listed property, where a modern extension had been constructed without the discharge of pre-commencement conditions. The Grade I designation was a key issue for such a breach of planning control as the terrace had been designed by John Nash and built in 1822 by John Mackell Aitkens.
Solution:
However, we argued that the addition of the glazed conservatory did not negatively impact on the built fabric which held the principal interest of the heritage asset. In addition, the extension was appropriately subservient to the architecture of the rear façade and could not be viewed from the public realm.
Outcome:
The City of Westminster agreed with our conclusion that the glazed extension had little effect on the setting of the heritage asset and retrospective planning permission was granted.